Powder Coating for Motorcycle Parts

Your motorcycle is your pride and joy, so its only natural that you want it to have the best finish possible, but you also want to get your moneys worth. Have you ever considered of powder coating?

Powder coating is possible the best painting technique available, however not many people are aware of what it is. To give you an idea of how great powder coating is, nearly every product you purchase has been powder coated, from appliances, to office furniture to sporting goods. BMW and Volvo were the first automobile companies to use clear powder coating topcoats on their products to protect the automobiles color coat. Powder coating uses a very fine dry powdery-resin that contains a color pigment. Once the resin has been applied to the metal surface and cured, the resin forms a uniformed skin that is extremely durable and resistant to chemicals, wear and tear, and chipping.

In the powder coating process, the preparation stage is very important if you want to achieve the best paint results. Preparation includes completely stripping away the motorcycle parts of all its paint. In some shops, they even remove any seams, and logos. It is vital that the motorcycle parts be entirely cleaned of any paint, dirt, oil, and any other substance. Therefore, sandblasting is often used to completely clean the motorcycle parts. Once the outside of the parts have been cleaned, its time to clean the inside. This is done by baking the motorcycle parts to remove any moisture and gasses from the metal. This is known as outgassing. Next, the motorcycle parts are treated with a degreasing solution to prevent rust and corrosion. As you can tell, powder coating is only used for selected motorcycle parts. The parts are the hung on a rack and placed inside the spray booth. Using a spray gun, the parts are then coated. Then if the coater is satisfied with the spay job the motorcycle parts are then baked on a large oven in so that the powder coating can cure. If the coater isn't pleased with the spray job, before the parts are cure, he/she simply blows off the powder and recoats the parts.

The temperature inside the oven used for curing is usually between 400 and 450 degrees. The high temperatures cause the powder to melt and flow covering the motorcycle parts in a smooth even pigmented gel, which will harden into the durable desirable finish. The motorcycle parts are then removed from the oven, cooled before any top coating is applied before the parts are polished to a lustrous shine. High temperature powder coating can be applied to any metal such as steel, zinc, and non-load bearing aluminum as well as a few other materials, whereas low temperature power coating can be applied to such materials as load-bearing aluminum, plastics, ceramics, and even wood.

Powder coating will outlast liquid paint. In addition, there are hundreds of colors to choose from, including metallic, micas, and even coatings that resemble stone and wood gain. A buddy of mine had his bike powder coated to look like wood. Its funny to watch people walk by it and sneak a feel, just to see if it is made of wood or not. When you have your motorcycle parts powder coated, they are more resistant to acids, solvents, impacts, and even abrasions. However, powder coating is not indestructible, it can chip, crack and if you are in a crash, it will be damage. For minor scraps, and scratches, a powder coated finish can be polished. However, if your bike needed to be repaired, it will have to be stripped and recoated. The motorcycle parts that can be powder coated include: valve covers, wheels, trim parts, sway bars, bumpers, coil springs, strut bars, tank, etc. If you are interested in having your motorcycle powder coated there are countless powder-coating companies available, many with websites that can answer all of your questions.